Dr Msandeni Esther Chiume

Position: Principal Investigator Malawi

The Head of Paediatrics and Child Health department at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) in the Ministry of Health (Malawi), a major referral centre in Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi. Her clinical area of interest is Neonatal Care and she also fully involved in all areas of general paediatrics including management. She is a Co-PI on the NeoTree project and also a Co-PI and site leader of the New Born Essential Solutions and Technologies (NEST 360) program. She sits on the National Neonatal Technical Working Group, a member of the National Polio Executive Committee and she is a board member of Parent and Child Health Initiative (PACHI) Trust. In addition, she is a lead consultant in the PACHIMAKE (Paediatric Alliance for Child Health Improvements at Kamuzu Central Hospital and its Environs) group. Lastly, Dr Msandeni is a part-tome clinical lecturer at University of Malawi- College of Medicine.

In the year 2006, she graduated as a medical doctor from the University of Malawi – College of Medicine. Thereafter, she went through internship for 18 months before joining the Ministry of Health up to date. In the Ministry of Health, she has served as a Senior Medical Officer and District Health Officer, overseeing delivery of health services in the districts of Dowa, Lilongwe and Chiradzulu, for a period of 3 years. Later, she was granted a National Aids Commission of Malawi grant to pursue specialist training in Paediatrics. During the period, she received yet another scholarship, a Thomas Mark award to study in the University of Liverpool for a Master of Science degree in Tropical Paediatrics. After successfully finishing her studies in Liverpool, she proceeded to the University of Pretoria to complete the paediatric training. She is one of the exceptional paediatricians who returned back to Malawi to serve her community after graduating in 2015.